


Heroine

by frotesque



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Fem!Wally, Gen, genderbent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-15
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-03 01:37:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12738390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frotesque/pseuds/frotesque
Summary: Wallis West has just found something amazing in her uncle's office. What's a kid genius to do? [A retelling of the origin of Kid Flash featuring a genderbent Wally]





	1. Heroine: Part 1

She liked yellow well enough.

It was a pretty color, and her mother insisted it looked lovely on her, especially with her hair. She supposed that was why her mother had dressed her in the bright color for her aunt's wedding. Mary West wasn't necessarily obsessed with appearances or anything, but she knew that if it was up to her young daughter, the girl would've worn a t-shirt and shorts and been perfectly content to play in the mud the whole time.

Wallis knew better than to do so when she was wearing a nice dress.

The six year old wasn't entirely sure what was going on around her. There were lots of adults, and some of them were crying, most of them were smiling, and at the center of it all was her aunt, looking so pretty Wallis couldn't help but stare.

Next to her aunt was the woman's friend, Barry. Wallis had met him a handful of times, and she didn't know much about him other than that he was always late and he gave the best presents out of anyone in their whole family. She liked her dolls and her bows and the gorgeous bracelet her grandmother gave her before she stopped seeing her, but she  _loved_  the science kits her uncle gave her.

Her parents hadn't been thrilled at the junior chemistry set he had given her last Christmas, both claiming she was too young to understand or enjoy any of it. Which probably would've been true if Barry hadn't sat down with her and explained every piece in perfect detail.

She's been obsessed ever since.

Once she made it through every experiment in that kit, Barry went out and bought her another. Sometimes he even wrote her instructions for other experiments she could do. She was good at following his experiments. Especially after he showed her some of his lab write ups. He told her that every scientist kind of had their own language when it came to lab notes, and if you knew a scientist's shorthand, you could pick out their notes from anywhere.

She asked him if he would teach her his. He did, of course, and even started writing his experiments for her that way. He liked to joke that it was their secret language.

Anyway, she wasn't sure why everyone was there celebrating her aunt and Barry, but it was as good an excuse as any to see him again, so she wasn't going to complain.

After the ceremony, there was a big adult party. She hated those. All the grown-ups around her did was drink a bunch of apple juice and slowly get crazier and crazier as the night progressed. Before long, she found an opening to slip out of the reception space and out into the warm summer air.

Everything about the day seemed to have settled into a less formal atmosphere, and she took that as a sign that she was free to go hunting for bugs in the dirt.

She hadn't been out there long when she felt a gust of air. Her head perked up as she looked around for the source of the sudden wind. She would've thought it was just a breeze if she couldn't feel the static in the air. Barry had taught her about static. It meant there was electricity moving around. Although what could cause such a sudden charge was unknown to her. She made a mental note to ask him about it later.

"Whatcha up to there kiddo?"

Or now. She turned, already smiling as she sprung forward and lept into Barry's arms. "Barry!" She wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him with all her might.

He laughed at her excitement, returning the hug with gusto. "I finally got away long enough to come see you kid." He set her back on the ground, still smiling. "Hey, do you know what's been going on today?"

She shrugged. "Not really. Iris looked pretty."

Barry's gaze drifted towards the reception hall as his smile softened. "She did." His eyes went back to Wallis. "Well then I have something very important to ask you."

She blinked. No one ever asked her anything important. "Okay…?"

"Wallis West, you're the coolest kid I've ever met, and I wanted to know if you would take me as your uncle Barry." He held out his hand with a flourish, revealing a small jewelry box. Inside, Wallis could see a delicate little necklace, with a charm shaped like a molecule.

She stared at the necklace, then back to Barry. "Really? You'll be my uncle? Forever and ever?"

"And ever and ever." He promised.

She grinned. "Yes! I can't wait! We're gonna do everything together! Me and my uncle Barry." She tested the new title, already liking the sound of it.

He laughed at that, pulling the necklace from its box and motioning for her to turn around so he could put it on for her. She turned, grabbing her ponytail from where it rested on her neck.

"Do you know what this is Walls?" He asked as he fiddled with the clasp.

"It's a molecule!" She answered, proud of herself for remembering.

"That's right," he finished with the clasp, and Wallis turned back around to face him, "But not just any molecule. This is serotonin. It's what the brain releases to make you feel happy."

Wallis gasped, little hand reaching down and clasping the charm. "I  _do_  feel happy! It works!"

Barry laughed. "I'm glad, kid. Why don't you come inside and show everyone?"

Wallis nodded vigorously, grabbing her new uncle's offered hand. "Everyone's going to be jealous, because I have the best uncle in the world!"

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and led her inside.

* * *

Wallis figured her parents had expected her to get over her infatuation with science as she grew older.

They were wrong, of course. Maybe if her uncle wasn't so thrilled about her passion and didn't feed into it so regularly she would've, but that wasn't the case. Even so, they were as supportive as they could be for parents who didn't understand her love for the subject.

Her room was quickly looking less and less like a teenaged girl's bedroom and more like a ramshackle lab every day. Again, the work of her uncle.

Speaking of which, he would be there any minute. He had promised her a tour of his own laboratory today, and she could hardly contain her excitement. She asked him if they could run some experiments, to which he agreed.

Now if only she didn't have to wear yellow. Barry warned her that the lab could get kind of chilly, and to her dismay the only clean long sleeve shirt she had left was a bright, obnoxious yellow. Normally she wouldn't care so much about wearing her second least favorite color, but she had hoped to make a first impression that said "look out, future renowned scientist coming through" as opposed to "aww, Barry's cute little niece is here to play with some saline solution".

Despite her worry about how seriously she'd be taken, she could hardly bear her excitement. Barry had been promising this forever, but it seemed like every time they made the plans, something came up. He was always being called away for a "work emergency", and by the time he got back he was usually completely spent.

This time would be different though. This time she'd see the lab and they'd run a couple experiments and it would probably be the best afternoon of her life. She heard the doorbell sound from downstairs. Her eyes darted to the clock. He was only 7 minutes late.

She bolted down the stairs, catching him in a hug just as he entered. He barely managed to catch her in his arms.

"Woah kiddo," he said, laughing, "You're fast."

Wallis pulled away, still smiling. "And you're late. Again."

He had the decency to look sheepish, as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, sorry about that. I got caught up in some traffic. I think something with The Flash?"

Wallis nodded. She had her computer and her phone set to alert her anytime her favorite hero was in the news. "Armed robbery."

Barry's eyebrows raised. "Oh yeah, who was it this time?" He was as much of a Flash fan as she, and they often discussed his powers and his exploits, voices overlapping as they spun theories and told stories of the times they caught a glimpse of him.

"Captain Boomerang. It was so cool uncle Barry, I was watching the footage. I think he's getting faster."

Barry cocked his head. "Oh yeah? How do you figure?"

Wallis began pushing him out the door. "I'll tell you in the car. Let's go!"

"Woah, woah, woah. Slow down kid. I have to tell your parents or they'll think I kidnapped you." He dug his heels in to the ground.

Wallis shook her head. "They know you're coming. They ran to go get groceries and told me to text them when we leave. Speaking of which," She ducked under his arm, walking past him and down the steps of her front porch, "Let's  _go_!"

"Alright, alright," Barry conceded, closing the door to her home and making sure it was locked. Wallis was already buckled in by the time he made it to his side.

"Okay, so do you still want to know why I think The Flash is getting faster?" Wallis asked as he pulled away from her home.

"Absolutely."

"Well, I just eyeballed it at first, but when I slowed down some recent footage of him, it became totally obvious…"

* * *

"Okay, that's makes sense. Have you figured out the lightning?"

Wallis shook her head, sighing in frustration. "No. And trust me, I've done a lot of research into the relationship between speed and lightning. The most I could definitively figure is that there's some other factor than just speed. Short of having a conversation with him, I'm not sure I'll ever find out." She rested her head on her hand, upset by the prospect.

Barry gave her a sympathetic look. "Hey, you never know. Iris has been saved by him a few times. Maybe you should give her a list of questions for next time they cross paths."

Wallis thought about it for a moment before she broke out into a smile. "Uncle Barry, you're a genius."

He shrugged. "I don't know about that." He pulled into the parking lot of a nondescript looking building.

Wallis glanced out the window in confusion. "Um, Barry, this isn't the CCPD."

He smirked as he parked the car. "Nope. This is the CCPD's little secret. It's our offsite lab. It's where we do studies on our metahuman threats. And it has twice as much equipment."

Wallis stared at him wide eyed. "Are you serious?" She jumped out of the car, running to the front door and bouncing from leg to leg as she waited for her uncle. "C'mon Barry! You're so  _slow_."

He laughed as he walked over to her. "How am I supposed to keep up with you kid? When's track start again?" He pulled a card from his pocket, placing it on the scanner next to the door. It beeped and Wallis heard the door unlock. He held the door for her and gestured inside. "After you, Kid Flash."

Wallis rolled her eyes. "If I was like The Flash, I'd never let anyone call me that."

Barry shrugged as he followed her inside. "I don't know, I kind of like it."

The receptionist looked up at the sound of their voices, kind face blooming into a huge smile. "Barry! It's about time you brought your niece!" She stood and walked out from behind her desk, offering Wallis her tiny hand. "Barry has told us all about you."

Wallis took the petite woman's hand, returning the smile. "Nice to meet you. I'm Wallis." She glanced up at her uncle, who looked proud as ever. "I'm sure he already told you that."

The woman nodded. "That and more. I'm Christine. I hope you're not too anxious to get to the lab. Everyone in this building has been waiting to meet you." She released Wallis's hand.

Wallis frowned, looking up at her uncle. "Wait, so I have to meet  _everyone_  before I get to see your lab?"

He put a hand on her shoulder. "You'll love them Walls." She fixed him with a glare.

"Well," Christine interjected, "I won't you up any further than. Have fun, Wallis!"

She gave her a half-hearted grin as she let Barry lead her further into the building.

* * *

As soon as the man turned his back to him, Wallis's smiled dropped. She looked up to her uncle. "Was that the last one?"

Barry put a hand to his chin as if he were in deep thought. "Hmm, let's see… You met Christine, Margie, Elle, Duke, and Ross…" His hand dropped and he gave her a huge smile. "It's time to see the lab."

Wallis gasped in excitement. "Where is it?"

Barry shook his head fondly, knowing better than to give her an actual direction. She'd be off like a shot. "Follow me kiddo." He led them down the hall, stopping at the door at the end of the hallway. He turned to her. "Are you ready kid?"

"YES!"

With that, he scanned his card. Wallis felt her jaw drop.

"Oh my god." She whispered as she stepped inside. Chemicals and machines and computers lined the walls. There were 6 lab tables, all covered in experiments and lab reports and notebooks. It was everything she had always wanted. "This is incredible."

Barry grinned at her, glad to see that the lab didn't disappoint. "Cool huh?" He walked forward, coaxing her to step through the door frame. "I have some tests to run today? Want to help?"

Wallis felt faint. "Really?"

He nodded, moving back towards the lab coats hanging next to the door. He grabbed one and held it out to his niece. Wallis took the coat with a sort of reverence, and Barry swore he saw tears in her eyes as she put it on. She looked up at him, smiling so wide it hurt.

"Let's get to work."

* * *

"Alright kiddo, it's about time I get you home." Barry said as his niece walked past him into his office.

She sighed, flopping into his desk chair and letting her gaze drift around the room. "I know." She sat up suddenly as she remembered an earlier promise. "Hey uncle Barry, you said you had a bunch of old lab reports from some cool experiments you did. Do you think I could have some?"

Barry shrugged. "I don't see why not." He walked over to where she was sitting and bent down, opening the top drawer of a filing cabinet. "These are all pretty neat. And there's another that I was referencing for a case recently…" He reached down and grabbed a stack of composition notebooks, placing them in the desk before her. "Let me go see if it's near my lab station." With that, he left the room.

Wallis grabbed the first notebook on the stack, flipping through it. She could already tell she was in for some  _very_  interesting reading. She replaced the book on the stack and reached down, opening the file cabinet he had retrieved the books from. She sighed when she saw there wasn't any left.

She blinked as she got an idea and shut the drawer, trying to open the one below. She frowned when it wouldn't open. Glancing back at the door to make sure her uncle wasn't coming back, she began searching for a key. She quickly grew frustrated when her search came up empty. She was moments from giving up when she remembered one of her uncle's weird quirks.

Uncle Barry was very smart, but he was terribly scatterbrained. He once joked that he had to stay one step ahead of himself, so he had spares for  _everything_. There was no doubt a key in there somewhere. She started looking again, this time with more fervor as her time slipped by. Her eyes almost skimmed over the little Flash action figure on his desk.

Almost.

The little toy was in mid sprint, frozen in its pose on its grey base. She lifted the figurine, and smirked at the sight of a shiny key taped to the bottom. Wallis didn't have time to celebrate. She pulled the key off the toy and wasted no time in opening the drawer. To her dismay, there was only one notebook inside. With a sigh, she pulled it out, flipping through it quickly as she had done with the others. It seemed standard enough, full of precise measurements and careful calculations. Then an entry caught her eye. She opened the book more fully.

_March 7_

_It's been a few days since my accident. I've toyed with the idea of going to the hospital and getting checked out completely but… I feel completely fine. Better than fine, even._

_I'm not sure entirely what's happening to me, and it's difficult to run these tests discreetly. All I know is that I am fast. Very fast._

_I went to the track yesterday, just to see how quickly I could finish a couple laps in an all-out sprint. 3 seconds. I ran 2 laps in three seconds._

_There's still so many tests to run, and I have no clue what this means or what I should do now that I have these powers, but one thing is for sure:_

_I've pulled off one hell of an experiment here._

Wallis almost dropped the book. She continued flipping. He clearly hadn't intended to keep a genuine journal, as many entries weren't dated and several were never even completed. He must've known no one else would see this.

She looked back to the lab report itself, needing to prove to her own eyes what she knew to be true.

It was Barry's handwriting, Barry's shorthand, Barry's notes. And this was the experiment that had given The Flash his powers.

She stared down at the words on the page, hands shaking so bad that they were becoming harder and harder to re-read. Finally, she managed to calm herself enough to do what any scientist did when confronted with a new discovery. Decide what she knew, what she didn't know, and what she was going to do.

She knew that this was undoubtedly Barry's notebook. She knew that this could only mean that her uncle, her idol, was The Flash.

Oh, and she was the only other person in the world who knew exactly how to read his lab notes.

What she didn't know was far longer a list. Question after question came to mind, none of which she could ask Barry unless she told him what she knew. She supposed she  _could_  tell him what she found, but something stopped her.

As she replaced one of the notebooks in the stack Barry had given her with her find and locked the drawer - putting the key back exactly where she found it - she made her decision.

She was going to recreate The Flash's experiment.


	2. Heroine: Part 2

Wallis had never lied to uncle Barry in her life.

She wasn't a great liar to begin with, and that coupled with the fact Barry had never given her any reason  _not_  to trust him with the truth left her feeling nauseous the whole way home. Barry seemed to have noticed the change.

"What's wrong kiddo?"

Wallis shrugged, knowing she'd never be able to convince him she was fine. "I just hope I get to see this place again soon." She watched as Barry visibly deflated, and knew that she was probably the worst niece in the whole universe.

"I'm sorry kid, I know you've really been itching to see it. Hopefully I can bring you back soon." He gave her a sad smile. "Things just… come up."

Wallis grit her teeth, guilt melting away into anger. If she didn't know he was The Flash, she would've taken the vague answer. She'd never pressed him for details before. She didn't bother with a reply as her mind spun with realizations.

She had told him all her theories about The Flash, his powers, his strategies. He knew how much she wanted to speak to the Scarlet Speedster, just to ask a few simple questions. He let her go on and on while knowing the answers. He had been humoring her for  _years_.

Her throat was so tight she was finding it hard to breathe. It took everything she had to keep herself from crying. Maybe what she did, and what she was going to do, was a betrayal; but Barry had dealt the first blow.

She would have kept his secret. She would have guarded his secret with everything she had. In fact, she still intended to. Her mind drifted back to thoughts of the notebook in her stack.

She really didn't know what she wanted out of recreating his experiment.

Part of her just wanted to know she  _could_. Maybe even complete it where he didn't. After all, the experiment itself had more to do with cellular regeneration using accelerated particles than gaining superpowers. Barry would be torn between his own scientific curiosity and his anger at her for taking his notes.

There was another part of her, though small, that wondered if she could  _really_  recreate the experiment. If she could make herself like Barry, like  _The Flash_. She tried to dismiss these thoughts. After all, from what she could tell, Barry giving himself powers was a complete fluke. A wonderful accident. No matter how hard she tried, however, her mind kept slipping back.  _What if, what if, what if_.

She was so lost in her own thoughts that she almost didn't notice that they had made it back to her house. She was about to get out of the car when Barry laid a hand on her shoulder. The touch burned.

"Hey Walls," He began, remorse clear in his tone, "I really mean it when I tell you that I wish I could bring you more often. Everyone really liked you, and you make one hell of a lab assistant." His eyes were so big and genuine that Wallis knew she had to leave before he had her spilling her guts.

She slapped a smile on her face, but even she could feel how weak it was. "It's okay uncle Barry. I get it." And she did. More than he knew. Even so, she was upset, and though she knew she'd forgive him sooner or later, she needed some time away. To think. To plan.

Barry must've seen right through her, though he didn't know what he was looking at. He pulled her in for a hug, which she returned. He smiled at her when he pulled away. "I love you, kid."

Wallis felt her smile grow a little more genuine. After all, she just stole from him. Who knows how much longer she'd get to hear him say that? "Love you too uncle Barry."

With that, she grabbed her stack of notebooks and got out of the car. For the first time in her life she didn't look back.

* * *

Wallis had a certificate of genius on her wall.

She wasn't quite sure how legitimate it was, though her parents claimed that they had her IQ tested very young and she did in fact meet the standard. Still, the thought that the most society could do for a genius was give them a certificate irritated her, and she kept the fact close to her chest because of it.

Besides, no pretty piece of paper was going to help her with  _this_.

Upon further reading of her uncle's experiment, she realized she was hopelessly under-stocked. While she had a few of the chemicals she needed and the most basic version of some of the equipment, she knew that there was no way she was pulling this off without some help.

Help that she couldn't ask for. Before she allowed the setbacks to pull her into a deep despair, she grabbed a piece of paper and began jotting down everything she didn't have. She bit her lip, staring at the list of chemicals.

She could get those. Ideas bounced around her mind, everything from finding a way onto the dark web to quietly asking her mother to purchase them for her. She quickly dispelled both. The dark web required a knowledge of computers she didn't possess and more software than she cared to deal with.

Her mother might be able to buy some of the stuff off her list, but she could already pick out three or four chemicals that she'd never be able to buy as a citizen.

Then her dumbest idea yet flew into her brain.

CCPD's offsite lab would have  _all_  of them. They would be properly labeled and organized. If she knew where she was looking and what she was looking for, she could be in and out in less than 10 minutes. She struggled to make her pen keep up with her brain as she began fleshing out a plan.

Her first hurtle was Barry. Even if he was cool with her just taking dangerous chemicals out of the lab, he's probably recognize the combination in seconds flat. She'd have to find out his schedule and make a point to avoid running into him there. Better yet, she should plan on meeting him just as she finished her heist. She'd tell him she was there for a surprise visit, and he'd be ignorant and most likely thrilled to see his favorite niece.

Then there was the issue of cameras. She hadn't looked for them the first time she went, but she knew without a doubt there would be plenty. With a sigh she realized that short of a miracle she'd never be able to get in and out.

As her mood took a steep turn for the worst, she realized that even if she could somehow manage to take the chemicals, she didn't have any way of accelerating particles as the experiment called for. She supposed she could dust off her rudimentary engineering skills, but there was no way she'd be able to build something that would be able to accelerate them fast enough.

She was dead in the water.

She blinked back tears as she realized that in the end all she'd really be left with were feelings of betrayal and one hell of a souvenir. Oh, and the decision on whether she should tell her uncle what she knew or keep her own secrets.

And she had school tomorrow.

Wallis groaned at the thought of it. School was hard enough on its own, especially since she had been bumped up a couple grades. Genius or not, she felt no one should have to go to middle school before their time. With that, she hunted down her book bag so she could attend to the homework she had neglected that weekend.

Even as she began on her algebra, her mind continued to spin ideas on how she could pull off the biggest, and only, heist of her life.

* * *

The great thing about the chemistry lab in the high school building was that it was relatively well stocked and almost always empty after hours. The teacher who ran the lab, Mr. Hoff, was nice enough to give her a spare key to the room so she could run experiments after school hours, so long as she let him know beforehand and didn't take anything out of the room.

Two rules she had every intention on breaking today.

Of course, She'd still need to get into the CCPD lab to get some of the more dangerous chemicals, but she found that the high school lab had a good enough collection to get her started. At the end of the school day she retrieved one of her old chemistry sets from her locker. Though she had used all the stuff it came with long ago, she knew that the closeable test tubes it came with would be helpful in her endeavors.

She already made a handy list of chemicals she couldn't put into a closed container without risk of explosion, which she looked over as she made her way to the lab. She was about to reach into her back pocket for the key to the room when she heard something on the other side of the door.

Someone was in there. She cursed under her breath, and figured it wouldn't hurt to ask the other patron how long they would be there for this afternoon. It wasn't like Mr. Hoff gave many people his key. She tried the knob, and the door opened to reveal one of her classmates.

She'd seen the kid around a few times, of course, but had never really spoke to him before. She knew that he liked to wear band t-shirts and he was Vice President of the AV Club, and that was about as far as her knowledge went.

He didn't even seem to notice that she had walked in, attention devoted entirely to the mess of wires on the table in front of him. She took a couple steps closer, placing her hands on her hips.

"The AV Lab is down the hall you know."

He looked up at the sound of her voice and simply stared for a moment, unblinking. His face flushed a brilliant red as he broke the eye contact, looking down at the counter in front of him as he spoke.

"Uh, yeah, I know. I just needed to get away from the other guys for a minute. This is non-school related stuff and I didn't want the others asking me about it too much. Mr. Hoff was just nice enough to let me use this room."

She cocked her head at his words, moving closer to inspect the mess on the lab table. "Really? Can you tell me what this is? I'm not in AV Club." She shrugged. "And I might not understand anyway." She probably would, actually, but teenage boys  _rarely_  believed her when she told them she had a genius level IQ.

He looked hesitant, but either the promise that she wouldn't understand or her batting her eyelashes convinced him it was perfectly fine to divulge. "So my dad is head of security at the CCPD. Well, not the CCPD but like, this offsite location or whatever. They're planning on upgrading the camera system and my dad wanted me to take a look at the new cameras and the old system so they could get an idea at how much they'd have to replace."

Wallis was sure he could hear her heart pounding in her chest. Even so, she attempted a look that said "wow, as a woman I couldn't possibly understand what that means, but luckily, I have you, a man, here to make it easy for my simple lady brain to understand".

"That's cool," She reached out and poked a wire suspiciously, just to add an extra layer of adorable lack of comprehension, "You must be really smart." She knew he'd go for that.

His thin chest puffed up at the words, confirming her suspicions. "I mean, I try, you know?" How humble. "It's all kind of complicated, but I think I'll be able to figure it out. My dad thinks the practical experience would look good on a resume, so I'm going to help them hook up the system."

"How will they be able to run the cameras and switch the system?" She asked, hoping it sounded like a casual question.

He seemed to enthralled by her interest - though she wasn't sure if he thought it was aimed at him or his work – and thought nothing of the question. "They won't, which is why I'm trying to figure out a fast way to do it. Though from what I've got so far, the system should only be down for about an hour."

A whole hour window. It was taking all the willpower she had to not get too visibly excited.

"Really? And when is all of this going on?"

"This Saturday." He gave her a shy smile. "But I'm free next weekend."

She nodded distractedly, mind already spinning with ideas and plans. "Uh huh. Hey, how long are you going to be here for?"

He blinked at her sudden change in demeanor, but didn't let it phase him. "Uh… Like 15 minutes? I'm almost done."

She gave him her brightest smile. "Great. I'll just be over here then." She pulled her textbook from her bag and placed it on an empty table.

"Okay. Let me know if you need help with anything," He glanced at the cover of her book, "I'm great at chemistry."

Wallis nodded at him, making sure he wasn't looking as she rolled her eyes.

* * *

Wallis unloaded her bookbag upon returning to her bedroom, checking chemicals off her list as she hid them in a box under her bed. She was close, only missing three. She was sure the lab would have them, but if she wanted to be in and out fast enough, she'd need to know where to find them.

Lucky for her, Barry and Iris were visiting for dinner, and she was sure she could find out how they organized their chemicals from her uncle. Her mood soured just as quickly as it brightened, however, as she realized she'd have to see her uncle again.

She had tried to get over her apprehension, but it was futile. Every time she felt like she was on the way towards forgiving him, she'd see some news report about The Flash and get upset all over again. Still, she'd have to get over it sooner or later, and she had to make a good show of being over it tonight if she had any hope of finding out where she could find the last few chemicals.

"Wallis! Dinner!" Her mom's voice travelled up the stairs. It was now or never. She took a deep breath before leaving her room and heading towards the stairs.

She could hear voices in the living room as she walked, Iris was all smiles and laughs as she spoke with her brother, Wallis's father, and Barry stood nearby, handing a wrapped bowl over to her mother. Iris caught her gaze.

"Wallis!" She opened her arms expectantly, and Wallis wasted no time bounding down the rest of the stairs and into her aunt's embrace.

"Hey aunt Iris." She gave her a squeeze, genuinely glad to see the woman.

Barry crept into the edge of her vision, smiling at her. "Hey there kiddo!" He too opened his arms to her, and she knew better than to waste time giving him a hug as well. He pulled away, still smiling.

She returned the look as best she could, though she couldn't think of anything to say. That hadn't happened to her before. Usually she had no trouble talking his ear off, and suddenly she found herself struggling to play the part of herself.

Barry bailed her out. "Did you see what The Flash did today?" He spoke in the same excited tones he always did, but what had convinced her hundreds of times before seemed stiff and fake. A part of her couldn't believe she fell for it.

"Uh huh. Captain Cold." She recalled the footage she had watched with irritated curiosity. "He tripped."

Barry blinked at that, caught off guard by her cold analysis. He glanced at Iris, and from the look she gave him Wallis knew that the woman knew his secret, and both knew something was wrong with her. "Uh, yeah." He mustered up as much enthusiasm as he could manage.

Wallis nodded, suddenly catching fire in her speech. "Yeah, it was kind of hilarious. I never noticed before but he can be so sloppy sometimes. I mean, if he knew he was fighting Captain Cold, he ought to have considered the ice patches." She had to pulled back, now everyone was looking at her strangely. "I mean, I can't imagine how everything must look when travelling at super speed. It's all probably a blur to him.

The addition must've been good enough, because everyone seemed to relax. Barry smiled. "Well, he must have some way of not running into things. What do you think he does Walls?"

She ground her teeth. She had no clue, but he knew. He knew the answer to every question she ever had. She refused to embarrass herself further. "I don't know," She said with a shrug, "I guess I'll never really know."

Iris frowned. "What's going on Wallis?" Leave it to her aunt to be blunt in her confusion.

Wallis played dumb. "What do you mean? It's true. I have no idea. I never will." She turned her gaze to her uncle, who looked guilty. Good. He ought to be. "Hey uncle Barry, do you think I could go to the lab with you on Saturday?"

He smiled tentatively. "Maybe. I know there's some work happening with the security system in the morning. We won't be able to do anything in the lab until after 12. But I don't see why it would be a problem. Do you want me to pick you up?"

Wallis hummed, as though she was deep in thought. "Nah, I think I'll just meet you there."

"You sure? I know you usually aren't fond of taking the bus."

She nodded. "I'm sure." She didn't bother with an explanation; she didn't owe him one. He still looked a little unsure, but nodded in agreement.

She waited a little later, when they were all relaxed and eating, to ask about her other question. "Hey uncle Barry," She asked between as spoonful of mashed potatoes, "Is it ever hard for you to find the chemicals you need in the lab?"

He took a sip of water and shook his head. "Not at all. We're pretty big on organization around there. You remember those shelves along the back wall? It's alphabetical from left to right. Within the alphabetical names are the different types of each chemical. It's all clearly labeled. We wouldn't want someone accidentally grabbing the wrong stuff, you know?"

Wallis nodded. She had figured there would have to be some very insistent rules of organization, but her uncle confirming it eased her mind and made her more and more sure that she might be able to pull this whole thing off. The conversation continued. Her family ate, her mood brightened, Barry seemed happy at her sudden turn, and her mind chiseled away at the plan, slowly but surely giving it shape.

Barry was a quick-witted guy.

She might just be faster.


	3. Heroine: Part 3

Wallis used to bite her nails.

Well, she still did, occasionally, but only when she was  _extremely_  stressed out. She winced as the edge of her too short nail grew red and raw, and remembered why she had worked so hard to break the habit. She probably would've kept up with that too, if she had been planning anything less than breaking and entering.

If this were normal circumstances, she wouldn't even  _dream_  of trying something so daring with so little planning and preparation. This was far from normal circumstances, of course, as she didn't generally make a habit of breaking the law. Still, she always did have a sort of "go big or go home" attitude, so if there was going to be an exception to the rule...

She laced up her old running shoes distractedly, thinking her plan through in her head again and again. There were still details she hadn't been able to iron out throughout the week.

She knew the bus schedule like the back of her hand. She had even done the math to account for any anomalies. Traffic, construction, all of it. She'd looked into it extensively, using equations given to her by the scatterbrained math tutor at her high school. The elderly man hadn't even taken notice of the college level "word problems" given to him by a sophomore. Finally, she had her schedule, including an idea of her margin of error.

Then there was the issue of the locked lab door. Without a key card, she couldn't hope to get inside. She had finally settled on a plan, though it was a bad one, admittedly. She'd ask Christine to let her through reception and into the back halls under the guise of using the bathroom. Not terrible up until that point. This was where her plan derailed into insanity.

She looked on countless internet forums, trying to find any way to bypass the system. Most of them required heavy duty equipment that she'd never be able to get access to (at least not within a week). The only alternative she had found was riskier than she'd like. She'd have to pick-pocket the pass from someone.

She'd never pick-pocketed anyone in her life. She'd never even thought about it. She didn't know anyone who could teach her. In the end, she had settled on reading hundreds of posts on the art. She carried playing cards around all week, doing complicated tricks she had found online to practice dexterity and slight of hand. The night before, she tested her skill by pick-pocketing her dad's wallet.

She had met him at the door upon his arrival from work, arms open and charming smile in place. When he pulled her in for a hug, she made her move, quickly slipping his wallet out of his pocket. He stepped back from their hug, ruffled her hair, and walked to the kitchen to greet his wife.

Wallis blinked after him, wallet heavy in her hand. Her gaze fell to the stolen object, and she placed it onto the table by the door, right where he usually left it. He wouldn't think twice about it, assuming he had placed it there unconsciously like he did every single day. Wallis knew she hadn't taken anything, but guilt twisted her stomach anyway.

She was prepared to pick-pocket, but she really didn't want to. Her father hadn't noticed her trick, but he wouldn't be on guard while giving his beloved and notoriously well-behaved daughter a hug anyway. Doing so to a complete stranger would be a completely different story.

Once she got past this, there was only the matter of getting in and out before the end of her camera-less window of time.

Shoes tied, she began a shaky walk to the bus stop. Her plan had to go almost perfectly for it to work. Any wrong move would leave her caught red handed, and that would lead to a series of incredibly uncomfortable talks with her parents, and worse, her uncle.

More than once during her walk she wondered if it would all be worth the risk. She wondered why she was doing this in the first place.

Did she want to prove something to herself? To Barry? Or was it much more than that?

Did she want to be like The Flash?

Had anyone asked her before everything that had happened, her answer would've been a resounding yes. Now that she understood what it would take…

The bus arrived. She walked up the stairs, abandoning reason. If the great scientists of the past had let a little illegal activity keep them from their work, the world would be down tons of incredibly important discoveries. With that, she slipped in her headphones and ran through the plan in her head again.

At her stop, Wallis glanced down at her phone. 11:17. Perfect. Her walk to the CCPD building would take her about 10 minutes. When she got there, she would have to move fast in order to get in and get out just in time to meet Barry as he arrived. Glad she had chosen her trusty running shoes, she picked up the pace to a light jog.

She wondered what it felt like for Barry when he ran. She wondered if he grew tired, if his legs burned, if his heart ever felt like it would beat out of his chest. She wondered what it felt like to run so incredibly fast. She'd been running track since middle school with the hopes of being like her idol, and she was pretty good at it too. She wondered if Barry had been a runner before he got his powers. She wondered if he understood his gift.

She made it to the building in 5 minutes. She took a deep breath, already feeling clearer with the aid of her short run and her adrenaline. Heart pounding, she walked to the front and buzzed the com to the front desk.

"Hello, how can I help you?" Christine's voice was scratchy through the old system. Wallis held down the button to reply.

"Hi Christine, it's Wallis."

"Oh! I thought I recognized that hair." The door unlocked, and she stepped inside.

Christine walked out from behind the desk to greet her with a hug. "Hey honey. Sorry about that. Our feed is so grainy, you looked like a little fireball." Wallis hugged her back stiffy, lamenting at the location of the woman's pass card. She hadn't counted on it being worn around her neck on a glittery lanyard. Even if she could swipe it, there's no way the other woman wouldn't notice right away.

Wallis smiled, tugging at her ponytail and glancing at the ends of her bright red hair between her fingers. "It's fine. Poison Ivy has red hair too. You were smart to check."

Christine laughed at her joke. "Can I get you anything hun? We have some snacks, drinks?"

Wallis fought to remain easygoing. "Uh, I'm good, but I could use a bathroom."

"Oh sure!" Christine walked to the door that would lead into the back hall and scanned her card, unlocking it with a click, she held it open for Wallis. "It's all the way down to the left. Right by the lab door!"

Wallis grinned at her. "Thank you."

"Sure. Just come back out here when you're done. I'd let you wait in Barry's office, but I think it's locked." With that, she shut the door, leaving Wallis alone in the hall.

Wallis exhaled shakily, walking slowly towards the lab door. She stared at the card reader as if she could will it to unlock the door for her. She walked past the bathrooms, hand reaching out to touch the electronic reader. It's dull red light was steady.

The knob to the lab turned suddenly, and Wallis leapt back. To her surprise, she found herself face to face with AV kid from school. "Uh…" Was all she could manage.

His face lit up. "Hi. What are you…?"

"My uncle works here. I just got lost on my way to the bathroom." Wallis explained. He grinned.

"Well, it must be fate that we ran into each other."

Wallis laughed nervously. "Yeah, must be. So, uh, how is the camera stuff going?"

"Great! We're all taking one more quick break before we finish up. I'm just lagging behind because I got distracted looking at all the awesome stuff in there. I told you how I like chemistry, right?"

Wallis nodded, wishing she hadn't said anything. "Uh huh." A thought crossed her mind. "Wait, I thought this lab was locked up really tight?"

He smirked, pulling something from his back pocket. "Temporary access. Pretty cool." He waved the card around as if taunting her. She watched as he slipped it back into his pocket. Her mouth twitched. She didn't know how much she believed in fate, but there must be something to it if it served her this fool on a silver platter.

"That is pretty cool. I have to meet my uncle pretty soon but, um," She fluttered her lashes and bit her lip, averting her gaze coyly the way she had seen her aunt do so when Barry would flirt with her, "Could I maybe get a hug?" She opened her arms and watched his heart stop.

He wasted no time in pulling her into a sweaty embrace, and Wallis deftly pulled the proxy card from his pocket. It slipped safely up her sleeve, and AV boy pulled away, grinning so hard she could see his gums. "So about next weekend-"

"Welp, got to pee. See you later!" Wallis cut him off, too excited to pay any mind to the rest of his sentence. She sped into the bathroom, biting her lip as hard as she could to keep herself from shouting in joy. After a minute of excited stomping, she peeked her head out, relieved to see that the hall was clear. Wasting no time, she ran to the door at the end of the hall and placed the card on the reader. It beeped green as the lock clicked.

Barry always told her she was the fastest kid he'd ever seen. Good thing, since she didn't have much time left before Christine would become suspicious.

She slipped in, hands already going to the vials in her bag.

* * *

Wallis was endlessly thankful to find the hallway empty as she stepped out of the lab. She was almost home free. She walked towards reception when a voice called out.

"Hey!"

She jumped, heart pounding. She turned, fearing the worst.

AV boy ran up to her, red faced and visibly freaking out. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to have seen-"

"This?" Wallis smirked, pulling the proxy card from her back pocket and holding it between his eyes. "You dropped it earlier."

He deflated with relief, taking it from her. "Thank God." He pocketed it. "Wouldn't want this getting into the wrong hands." He laughed nervously.

Wallis smiled at him, nodding in agreement. "Welp…"

He returned the smile before holding his arms out. Wallis reached out and slapped one of his palms with her own.

"See ya!" She said as she turned and walked through the door to reception.

Christine looked up at the sound of the door. Wallis grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, ran into a friend from school."

Christine waved a hand at her. "No trouble hun. Your uncle called and told me he was running a little late by the way."

Wallis barked out a laugh, startling the older woman. "Oh, sorry! It's just… He's always late is all. Thanks Christine." This time her calm was genuine.

With that, Wallis chose a chair, opening one of the magazines sitting on the table beside her as she settled in to wait.

* * *

It had been a fun day in the lab with Barry.

He had clearly been trying to compensate for the past week and his being late that day, letting Wallis run just about any test her heart desired. He insisted again that she was a great lab assistant, and promised to make a real effort to bring her more often.

Wallis could feel her animosity towards him drying up quickly, and even as she unpacked her successfully stolen chemicals, wondered again what exactly she wanted out of this experiment. Of course, that was in itself a problem for another day. There was a more pressing issue at hand.

She needed a particle accelerator. A small one would do the trick, since Barry's notes concluded that the acceleration didn't have to be massive. He could work his way up to larger accelerators and faster speeds.

Wallis didn't have the luxury of either.

This led her once more to extensive internet research, crawling through forum after forum, looking for any sort of clue. Her parents joked about her succumbing to the grip of technology, as she was rarely found without her phone in hand. Wallis let them believe what they wanted.

They supported her thirst for science, but they would definitely draw the line at theft in the name of scientific discovery. Her research held a lot of dead ends, and she made the decision to go to the library downtown that Tuesday after school.

Her parents didn't like her downtown alone, so she told them she would be late coming home because she wanted to do some drills on the track in preparation for the upcoming season. They were politely interested in her scientific exploits, but they  _loved_  track. They were at every meet, near and far, cheering her on.

Part of her wanted to resent this, but she genuinely loved track as well, so she let it slide. Her parents were both student athletes. That's just what they understood. They even told her she was good enough to run D1, claiming they'd seen scouts watching her at her meets.

That was questionable, but she had to admit, there was something kind of appealing in the thought of running for an ivy league and using their state of the art labs for her research. There was something missing in that fantasy though, and Wallis couldn't put a finger on what. It sounded fun but… empty.

She shook her head as if to clear her mind of such thoughts. She had her mission for today, and that was to get to the library and load up on reference books. A particularly interesting academic journal held her interest, and she glanced up to see the crosswalk sign was counting down, signaling her to speed up. She picked up the face and continued reading.

The only clue she had that something was wrong was a scream, and it didn't come from her. She turned her gaze towards the sound and came face to face with the front of a city bus. She didn't even have time to react before static prickled her skin and she found herself standing on the other side of the street, watching as the bus finally screeched to a stop right where she had been standing.

Her heart was pounding. The air still had a distinct feeling of static. She turned to look up at her savior, blinking as if to convince herself the image was real. The Flash smiled at her.

"You alright kid?"

Everything about him, from the stance to the smile to the pet name screamed 'Uncle Barry', and Wallis wondered not for the first time how she hadn't seen it sooner.

"I'm… Yeah, thanks." She shouldn't be so nervous, talking to her uncle, but he wasn't her uncle then. He was The Flash, and suddenly she knew that had she never found his notebook, she would've never put the two together.

Her uncle didn't fill the air with static. Her uncle didn't have this air of assurance, of power dancing beneath the skin. Her uncle didn't feel like a rubber band being pulled taut, kinetic potential palpable. She knew they were the same person, but she could almost convince herself they weren't.

"No problem. You should pay more attention when you cross the street." He gave her another quick once over. She wondered if he did that with everyone he saved, or if some of his concern for his favorite niece bled through to his super persona. He felt almost human, then. "Well, you seem fine. I have a patrol to get to, so stay safe and-"

"Wait!" Wallis cut him off. This was her chance. "Could I just, ask you some questions?" Barry would never tell her anything as himself, but as The Flash, she couldn't imagine any reason why not.

He bit his lip as he thought, another mannerism she recognized immediately. "I don't know if I have the time. I could answer one, but then I really do have to go." He conceded.

Wallis nodded. No problem. She'd been compiling lists of questions for him for as long as she could remember. The only decision to make was which one. That should've been easy, but her question about the lightning that always followed him, danced with him, died on her lips. She'd wondered at that for a while, but after the week she'd had, after all the doubt and turmoil that had consumed much of her thoughts lately, she knew exactly what she wanted to know more.

"Why? What makes you do this? What keeps you going?"

He blinked at the question, clearly expecting something else. He leaned in close, hands on her shoulders. Even through all his power Wallis could feel the comfort of her uncle.

"I do it because I must use my gift to help. I can't ignore what I can do. I'll always use my talents for good. Remember that, kid. If you have something to give the world. Why wouldn't you give it?" He gave her a smile, and she almost expected the kiss on the forehead and hair ruffle that usually punctuated her uncle's advice.

This wasn't her uncle though. This was The Flash. And he had to run. "Thank you. That… clears up a lot, actually."

He nodded, stepping back. "Please look both ways when you cross the street."

Wallis smiled, giving him a thumbs up. The air filled with static and he bolted, tossing her hair in all directions. She smoothed it down as best she could, staring after him. Her mind drifted to the notebook in her bag.

She hadn't known what she wanted from the experiment, but she had been looking for answers where there wouldn't be any. She knew what had become of her uncle's experiment, but for the life of her she couldn't remember what he had actually been trying to do in the first place.

She walked up the stairs of the library, stopping suddenly before she went inside. Wallis dropped her bag from her shoulders before reaching down and unzipping it. Her fingers went to the composition notebook that had started the whole thing.

Wallis opened the front page, eyes skimming as she looked for his hypothesis, his purpose. When she found it, she felt her legs go weak. She probably looked insane in that moment, crouched down in front of the library with a notebook in hand and tears in her eyes.

He'd been trying his hand at increasing the rate of cellular regeneration through kinetic energy. He wanted it to be used for medicine, for healing broken bones in half the time. Of course, that was just the beginning. Theoretically, it could be used to help people walk again. There were patients whose survival all came down to how fast they could heal. If he had finished the experiment…

Wallis snapped the book shut, tucking it back into her bag. It didn't matter what had happened to Barry. What mattered is that this experiment could  _help_  people. He could be The Flash. She would be a scientist.

Energized by her new purpose, Wallis stood and made her way into the library.

She had work to do.

* * *

Frustration didn't begin to cover how she felt. She'd poured over dozens of textbooks, academic papers, journals, old experiments; anything she could think of that might hold a clue to how she might go about creating particle acceleration without specialized equipment.

After her library finding came up empty, she returned to the internet. This was the most frustrating of all. Half of the people on the forums she read probably weren't even real scientists; their theories existing only as a brain child with no experimental data in sight.

Her face rested in her palm as she skimmed a particularly wordy post. The user had some interesting theories, and even mentioned that he had begun running a few experiments. Interesting, but useless. She was about to click away when an additional thread caught her eye.

It was written by the original poster, only dated about six months later. This entry was far more casual than his previous work. He mentioned that people had been asking where he had been, noticing that he had been strangely quiet on the forum lately.

He explained that he had taken a break from his work for vacation, but ended up taking a longer break because he had been  _struck by lightning_. Wallis did a quick internet search of the survivability of lightning strikes. Ninety percent. Much higher than she anticipated. Still, finding a first-hand account of such an occurrence… She wouldn't lose anything from a short break.

He went on to explain that he missed the bulk of the strike, instead getting hit by one of the smaller discharges. There were a few details about the pain, injuries, hospital time, treatment; but none of that piqued Wallis's interest like his description of the moments before the strike.

_The most incredible thing happened right before, I'm not even sure if I'll be able to describe it right. I saw a wave hit the rocks I had been standing on, and for a moment, it was like everything in the world slowed down._

_There was static in the air, so much it was almost hard to breathe, and then I saw water droplets falling so slow it was like they were suspended in air. No clue what this phenomena was. Maybe I got my brain fried? At any rate, it was incredible._

Wallis wasn't alone in her wonder. Most of the comments below were about the same topic. She skimmed those, well and truly devoted to her distraction for just a moment, when a comment caught her eye.

_Working theory: You experienced close quarter particle acceleration! It's pretty new science… Well, not new science, of course, but new in its being harnessed. Nothing slowed down, you sped up. Or your protons and electrons anyway. Lightning can act as nature's particle accelerator. Of course, that mostly occurs above Earth's surface, so you probably got a really mild dose, to say the least. Still, it's neat to hear first-hand what it's like to experience this._

Wallis froze, re-reading the paragraph. Then reading it again. Her hands were shaky as she pulled up another tab, searching  _particle acceleration and lightning._ Dozens of articles popped up, detailing the effects of "nature's particle accelerator". She opened another tab. Central City weather.

Thunderstorms were predicted for that weekend. Saturday was her parents' date night. The pieces of the puzzle fell together in her mind. Her gaze settled on the tall tree outside her window. There was no guarantee that lightning would strike close enough for it to work, nor was there any promise that the particle acceleration would actually happen, but it was something. She smirked to herself.

Benjamin Franklin had  _nothing_  on her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, okay, I know some of you out there are physically pained by my fake science. I'm hoping since we're all superhero fans that we've all already accepted that ridiculous pseudo - science comes with the territory, but I still worry that this'll require too much suspension of disbelief. On that note, I did a little research to see if there was ANYTHING I could ground in some real science, and low and behold lightning really is nature's particle accelerator. You can actually type in the exact same search as Wallis and find some info about it. Of course, I exaggerated a lot on the whole concept, but I felt marginally better about it knowing I wasn't flying too off the handle. Science (meteorology, specifically) was my first love, and I still have occasional torrid affairs with it, being that science fiction is my favorite genre to write. Anyway, thank you for sticking with me! I had a really nasty bout of writer's block, but it's been getting better as summer looms, so I'm hoping for a slightly more regular updating schedule. Please make sure to leave a review and tell me what you think!


	4. Heroine: Part 4

Wallis was normally a sunshine kind of gal.

She loved warm, sunny days. Light filtering through the trees, birds singing, sweat beading along her brow. Yet when she woke Saturday morning to grey, overcast skies, she found herself feeling happier than ever.

According to her phone, it probably wouldn't start storming until much later, around 5. This was perfect, since that was about the time her parents would be leaving for their date. Even better was the fact that they had decided on dinner and a movie that night since it was going to storm, which meant she'd have plenty to time for her experiment.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was aware that her plan was a little outlandish. Improbable. That was fine, she supposed. If it didn't work this time, well, there were always more storms. She supposed she could keep trying until it worked. Or better yet, until she could get her hands on a real particle accelerator.

In the meantime, she had a few hours to kill before she needed to start mixing chemicals. It seemed like as good a time as any to go for a run and maybe figure out a good place to put the chemicals for the best chance at lighting getting close enough to her samples.

She threw on a sports bra and some track shorts before pulling on her dirtiest pair of running shoes. She had something like 4 pairs, two for competition and two for casual running. She only brought out the really crappy pair when she was in danger of getting them wet.

Her parents greeted her with a smile when she made her way downstairs.

"Be safe if you go for a run sweetie," Her mom piped up, "I know it's not supposed to storm until later but be aware!"

Her father chuckled, eyes still skimming the paper. "Now Mary, our girl is an athlete. She's not going to let some rain stop her training."

Wallis grinned. "Yeah mom, I'm an  _athlete_. I'll do whatever stupid stuff I want." She began stretching in the foyer.

"Sure, sure. I know the season is coming up." She smiled as she watched her daughter bounce on the balls of her feet, trying to warm up her muscles gently. "I'm proud of you Walls. If you just keep putting in the work, you'll snag a track scholarship no problem."

Track scholarships. If her parents knew what she was doing, what she might be on the verge of, they'd be clearing a spot in the trophy cabinet for her Nobel Prize by now. A part of Wallis wanted to tell them then and there. The more rational part of her knew that doing so would only end in her being grounded for stealing.

So she went with the safer option. "Thanks mom. I know I have a good shot. That's why I've got to keep training." She opened the front door, and she could smell the incoming rain. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll run fast."

Her dad chuckled. "Careful kid, you'll put The Flash out of business if you get any faster."

Wallis laughed nervously at that. "Well hopefully he has a day job." With that, she walked out of the house and shut the door behind her. Her muscles were still a little tight, but she'd just start slow and speed up as they loosened.

She hopped down the porch stairs and hit the ground running, already welcoming the heat in her legs. Her gaze drifted lazily as she started up a slow jog. Her eyes landed on one of the trees near her house. It looked prime for climbing, and it was pretty tall. If she could get some chemical samples up there, she might have a really decent chance at getting the charge.

Mind made up, she settled into her stride.

It was going to be a big day.

* * *

It was getting late in the afternoon by the time Wallis finished her run, ate some lunch, and showered. She pulled her damp hair into a bun at the top of her head, already knowing she'd regret it when her hair dried funny. That was the furthest thing from her mind at the moment though. She was about to potentially make history.

Something about mixing chemicals was incredibly soothing to her. Like following a recipe. Of course, the stakes were a little higher since she was working with dangerous chemicals as opposed to flour and eggs, but the same principle applied. The rain started falling around 4:30.

She could hear her parents bustling downstairs, clearly picking up the pace in hopes of making it out the door before the storm picked up too much. This was a stark contrast to the slow and steady pace Wallis had been working at all afternoon.

By the time 5 o'clock rolled around, she was almost done with mixing. This left her with a feeling of dread, however, as she knew the next part of the experiment wasn't have the same level of order or control at all.

Thunder rumbled outside her window and her anxiety spiked. She hadn't ever really been afraid of thunderstorms, but she hadn't ever considered climbing a tree during one either.

_Getting struck by lighting is a statistical improbability._

She repeated this like a mantra in her head, though it was admittedly doing very little to comfort her. She tried her best to dismiss these dark lines of thought. Everything would have been for nothing if she managed to psyche herself out before she even had the chance to try.

"Wallis!" Her mother's voice startled her, and was infinitely glad that her mother hadn't been there to see. She'd recognize Wallis's unease in a second. "We're leaving sweetie!"

"Bye Mom, Dad! Be safe!" Wallis called back. Soon after she heard the front door open and close.

She shut her eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply before exhaling in a huff. She dropped to the floor, reaching under the bed for her googles and duct tape. She was kind of glad it was so nasty outside. If the neighbors caught her climbing a tree in the middle of a storm to tape some mixture to some of the taller branches, they'd think she'd lost her mind.

She wrapped the goggles around the top of her head. Maybe she  _had_  lost her mind. Her reasoning wasn't terrible, really. She needed to get the serum as close to the lighting as she could without it actually being struck.

Her initial plan had been to attempt to get the samples on the roof, right near her house's lightning rod. She had chickened out of that plan though. She was probably far more likely to get struck doing that than just putting them in a tree, right?

She carefully placed the chemicals in a case, then put the case in a book bag. She took another deep breath before walking out of her room, down the stairs, and out of her house.

The wind wasn't horrible, Wallis noted with some relief. Still, the storm was likely to get much worse pretty soon. She pulled the googles down over her eyes and began the short sprint over to the tree. She took no notice of the mud or how hard the rain was falling.

She was breathing hard by the time she got to the tree, but she didn't allow herself to stop. She found the nearest branch and immediately hoisted herself up. Her gaze remained fixed upwards, and Wallis made a point to only look up, no matter how temping it got to glance down.

The exertion from the run and the climb made Wallis feel hot and sweaty, even as the temperature outside continued dropping. Her googles had begun fogging up, which was frustrating, but easy enough to ignore.

She didn't rest until she found herself very near the top of the tree. It was slightly windier and the raindrops were heavier this high up. Wallis didn't dwell on the situation, choosing instead to get it over with. She reached into her bag, pulling out a small vial and the duct tape. It took some interesting maneuvering for her to finally get a piece of the tape.

Once she did, she reached up as high as she could to attach the vial to a branch. She wrapped the duct tape around the vial and the branch several times to make sure it was secure. She leaned back after, quickly inspecting her handiwork.

It was definitely rough. She only hoped that if lighting did strike the tree that the rubber from the duct tape was enough to protect her samples.

Once the first was in place, Wallis allowed herself to simply fall into a steady rhythm. She worked as quickly as she could with her quickly worsening vision. Not to mention that she was soaked to the bone and it was cold.

Her hands shook slightly even as she worked, yet she continued until there was only one sample left. She breathed a sigh of relief even as she reached into her bag to grab the vial. Her hand wrapped around the glass and Wallis felt the air hum.

Lighting struck-

* * *

Barry had been thinking about his recent encounter with Wallis all day.

He sat alone in his office, relaxing back in his chair as he lazily looked through some of his upcoming cases. He really ought to be working on some reports, but he couldn't concentrate.

It had truly taken everything he had to act like The Flash around Wallis, especially since she had almost gotten hit by a  _bus_ , of all things. Once again he found himself wondering if it was worth it to keep this secret from her. It had always been hard, but it had grown exponentially worse now that she was getting older and just telling her "something came up" wasn't cutting it anymore.

Not to mention that she was constantly analyzing footage of The Flash and attempting to use her scientific background to explain his powers. The guilt of playing dumb had always weighed on him, but with his recent encounter, it had only gotten much worse. She could've asked him any number of the questions she knew she had, and he had been so excited to finally tell her just how spot on she was with her theories.

Then she threw him a curveball.

He chuckled to himself. He really should've anticipated this. Wallis was never a predictable kid, something she managed to prove time and time again. Her response made plenty of sense, now that he thought about it. What brilliant mind  _wasn't_  looking for some sort of purpose? Looking for guidance?

He was well aware that his niece was a genius, and he was also aware that it was officially only a matter of time before the fun little experiments he had been giving her wouldn't be enough for her anymore.

Thunder rumbled outside, reminding him that it was supposed to storm that night. He needed to get out of there pretty soon. Still, he found himself kind of inspired. Wallis had been so patient with him lately, and she really was incredibly talented. She could use a challenge. He could use an excuse to open up an old experiment of his.

The experiment that had given him his powers was still perfectly viable. Actually, even as he considered it he could already think of a few modifications to make. He reached for the Flash figurine sitting on his desk (his favorite inside joke), turning it over and grabbing the small key taped to the bottom. The notebook containing his experiment remained locked up in his desk.

Perhaps not the greatest security, but it wasn't like anyone had reason to snoop around his office. Usually he also kept the notebook underneath a bunch of junk, but he had recently cleaned out the drawer and had been too lazy to put the files and notebooks he intended to keep back.

He sat back in his desk chair. It had been a while since he's re-read this experiment. He was feeling almost nostalgic as he opened it and began to read. His brows furrowed. This wasn't the Flash experiment. He looked down at the drawer, wondering if he had somehow grabbed the wrong notebook. There was nothing else in the drawer.

He read the notes again. He recognized this. Well, he recognized all of his experiments to some degree, but this one was clear in his memory. Why? It was pretty old. Had he read it again more recently? He jumped at the loud sound of thunder booming outside. When had he-

Wallis.

His brain worked fast, connecting the dots. He had read this notebook again recently because he was looking for lab reports to give Wallis. He had almost definitely given her this notebook, along with a huge stack of them. So how was it that...

Thunder rumbled again. Ominous. Foreboding. And not unlike it was the night that had changed his life forever. His stomach twisted, notebook falling from his suddenly weak grip. Wallis was alone tonight, and would be until late. She had access to his office. She knew the organizational system they used for their chemicals. He was officially too worried to sit around for any longer.

He changed into his Flash suit and was out the door before the notebook hit the ground.

* * *

-Wallis froze for a moment, fear shooting through her. She shook slightly as she attempted to remove a piece of tape for the last vial. Lighting struck again. Close. Too close. She felt the air fill with static as the temperature suddenly spiked. An impossibly bright light filled her vision. She winced, unwittingly clenching her hand and shattering the vial in her grip.

She called out in pain and surprise. Then she was no longer in the tree.

She gasped, holding on tight to whoever had grabbed her. She looked up. The Flash. Uncle Barry. He had saved her and now he was running. Wallis dared a peek in front of them. She had always wondered what it looked like to go so fast and she was still wearing her goggles, so it shouldn't hurt to do so. She wasn't expecting much, figuring at speeds like this she wouldn't be able to see much of anything.

But she could. Easily. The world was moving so slowly it was almost as if it had been paused. She glanced up at her uncle. He too seemed to be moving in slow motion, though not nearly as slow as everything else.

She glanced down at her hand. Her eyes widened as she watched the small cuts from the glass of the vial closing themselves up before becoming pink and dulling until they were no longer visible. Something was wrong.

Something was  _really_  wrong.

Wallis watched as a small spark of lightning bounced between her fingertips before traveling up her arm. She watched as it continued traveling over her whole body. She shivered, expecting some sort of sensation but feeling none. Her gaze returned to the view in front of her just in time for her to watch the world blur into incomprehensible shapes.

Her head spun dizzily before her eyes rolled back and the world went dark.

* * *

She woke up alone in a hospital bed.

It was a small blessing. Her family was likely nearby, waiting to smother her and, in Barry's case, yell at her until her ears fell off. She wasn't ready to deal with any of what was coming next.

Barry was the first one back, which was really just her luck. He locked eyes with her, and she knew he was about to let her have it. He turned, deliberately closing the door behind him before moving to stand beside her bed, arms crossed.

His voice was strangely calm. "I don't even know what to say to you."

Wallis winced. "I know."

"Where do I even start? With you stealing from me?" His brows raised, telling her that was exactly where he wanted to start.

She bit her lip. "I know. I'm sorry. I was just… I couldn't believe what I had found and… I don't know."

He huffed. "Okay, I can almost,  _almost_ , understand you wanting a little souvenir. But what I don't understand AT ALL is why on Earth you thought you should try and recreate my experiment. Do you realize how lucky it was I didn't die? And you risked your life on the off chance that you might get superpowers? You're a smart girl Wallis. So I really don't understand why you thought that was a good idea." His voice shook at the attempt to keep calm.

Wallis could tell he really wanted to yell, and honestly, she was surprised he refrained. "I wasn't trying to give myself powers," or at least she wasn't by the time she actually got around to doing the experiment, "Honest. I just… I thought if I could complete the experiment that you never got the chance to that you'd start taking me serious as a scientist."

"Don't you try that Wallis West. I have always, from the day you picked up a beaker, taken you seriously. I have always tried to help develop you as a scientist. Hell, the only reason I noticed you had taken my notes was because I was going to  _give_  you that experiment to try next. Because I believed you had what it took to pull it off." He huffed. "And how am I supposed to believe that you weren't trying to give yourself powers when you went out and got struck by lightning?"

Wallis blinked at him. "Huh?"

Barry rolled his eyes. "Cute. You read my journal. You know that's what happened to me the night I got my powers."

Wallis stared, eyes wide. "You- You're journal didn't say that."

Barry frowned. "It didn't?" He hadn't read through it in a while, but he was sure he would've mentioned the lightning strike somewhere in his entries.

Wallis shook her head. "No. You can even check when I give the notebook back. I swear I had no clue. I was trying to use the lightning as a natural particle accelerator."

Barry searched her expression for any signs of deceit, but she seemed genuine. He sighed. "Fine. I'll buy it. Of course, that still doesn't take away from the fact that you stole from me, and from the CCPD, I'd imagine, since some of those chemicals are not available to civilians."

Wallis winced. "I really am sorry uncle Barry. I just wanted to prove myself and… and it was really stupid of me. I should've just talked to you." Her eyes dropped to her hands, which were twisting nervously. "I was stupid."

"Nah, I think you're too smart." He put a hand on her shoulder, prompting her to look up at him. "Listen Kid, I know you're practically a genius, and I can imagine how that can make you unsettled or bored when you have no outlet. But smart or not, you're just a kid. You still need guidance, and I always have and always will offer that to you."

Wallis couldn't help the tears that began pooling in her eyes. "Why," Her voice cracked and she swallowed thickly, "Why didn't you just tell me? I felt so stupid when I read that journal. I mean, you knew how much I just wanted to know more about him and his powers and you just played dumb."

Barry frowned. "I know it's going to sound silly to you, but I genuinely just wanted to protect you. If any of my rouges caught wind that I have a niece, or just some young kid I cared about in general, they wouldn't hesitate to try and use you against me. I try and distance you and Iris from The Flash as much as I can."

"But you told her! Did you think I wouldn't get that? Or that I would tell someone?"

Barry shrugged. "It's a big secret kid, and honestly, I've never had much experience with kids. I didn't know if it was something you could keep to yourself. And besides, I haven't told your parents either."

Wallis swallowed again before nodding. "You can trust me. I won't tell anyone." She cracked a weak half smile. "I didn't even tell you."

Barry chuckled. "No, you did a pretty good job at keeping quiet thus far." He ruffled her hair. "I forgive you kiddo. We all make mistakes. But you are very, very grounded from the CCPD lab for a while. And I'm sure your parents have some punishment in mind as well."

Wallis wiped her face. "That's fine, I get it."

Barry's face grew serious suddenly. "I almost forgot to ask. How do you feel? I mean, the doctors said you were fine, and I figured that was just because I got to you in time, but you were under very similar circumstances as I was when I got my powers."

Wallis frowned, thinking back. She knew for a fact that the lighting had been  _really_  close, though she wasn't sure if she was struck, and she also knew she had shattered a vial of chemicals in her hand. She looked down at her palm to see if there was any sign of the injury. There was none.

She could only vaguely remember Barry carrying her away, but it could've just as easily been her stress making her confused. She didn't feel any different, not that she knew what it would feel like if she had somehow given herself powers.

"I feel fine. Normal. I think you did get to me in time." She didn't want to worry him when she wasn't even entirely sure what happened.

He sighed heavily, clearly relieved. "Thank goodness. Listen, if anything, and I mean  _anything_ , seems abnormal to you, let me know right away." He pulled her in for a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay Wallis."

She returned the hug. "I'm glad I'm okay too." She pulled away. "Where are my parents?"

"They went to get some real food. Iris is working."

The mention of food reminded Wallis how hungry she was. "Hey, uh, do you think you could get them to bring me some too?"

Barry laughed. "Sure thing kid."

And for a least a little while, Wallis knew everything would be alright.

* * *

Everything was not alright.

Wallis had only served two weeks of her two month long grounding and she felt like she could jump out of her skin at any moment. Her parents had banned her from everything, including running, once Barry told them about her thievery. He left out the fact she had been recreating The Flash experiment, of course, not that her parents really cared what experiment she had been attempting. Actually, she was pretty sure she would've gotten off clean if it hadn't been for the stealing bit.

It was unlikely that she would actually be grounded for the full two months. She was a good kid and rarely got into trouble, plus she was certain her parents would want her running track that season. Not that she would be in shape if they wouldn't let her run. The thought gave Wallis an idea.

"Please, please just let me go for a quick run. Just a couple miles! If I don't I won't be able to keep up in track this year. I've learned my lesson.  _Please_?" She tried to make herself look as pitiful as possible as she begged her parents to have some leniency. She had been really great about not complaining thus far, and she had every intention to cash in on that.

Her parents paused in their cooking to share a look. Finally her mother sighed. "Fine. You can run. But that's it. And keep it short."

Wallis jumped for joy. "Thank you thank you thank you!" She ran up to her parents, giving them each a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be fast, swear." She ran upstairs. She changed quickly, already bouncing on the balls of her feet. She hoped she wasn't too out of shape. Two weeks wasn't really that long, but distance runners had to stay on top of their training to stay at the top of their game.

She threw on her old shoes and bounded down the stairs. "Thanks again! I'll be back before dinner!" She called, not pausing before running out the front door. She took a few minutes to stretch in her front lawn, reveling at the feel of the sun on her skin. She had been feeling downright cooped up and bored out of her mind, especially since her parents had also taken away all her lab kits.

She knew she should probably stretch more, but the anticipation was getting to be too much. She set her Garmin to track her run and she was off. She started slow, just to be sure she didn't try too much too soon. She welcomed the heat in her muscles as she loosened up. It didn't take long before she sped up, working to find a nice, sustainable pace.

Wallis was surprised at herself. She felt great, not even a little winded. Part of her thought to go ahead and settle in, but she was so excited to be outside again that she found herself wanting to speed up. She'd be exhausted by the end of the run, but she didn't care. Mind made up, she began increasing her speed.

She glanced down at her Garmin, then looked again. A mile? There was no way she had already run a mile. And she still wasn't feeling any fatigue. Curious, she continued to speed up. She was really booking it now, she could tell. The wind whipped past her face. She had to be breaking a personal record.

She glanced down at her watch again. Another mile! Two miles in a little less than ten minutes? She stopped where she was. That was a record for her by a whole four minutes. She bit her lip, looking at the sidewalk ahead of her.

She had never been a sprinter, never even been curious about it, but she felt like taught rubber band, ready to snap. Mind made up, she walked up to the nearest crack in the sidewalk. Her starting line. She was just going to sprint until she couldn't anymore, just to get out all of her weird excess energy.

She counted herself down in her head, and she was off.

The world blurred. Wallis slid to a stop, crying out at the sharp sting of intense wind hitting her eyes. She blinked a few times to soothe them. When she opened them again her jaw dropped. Her shoes were smoking, and the soles had been completely worn. She looked around.

She was at the edge of her neighborhood! Her heart raced as she looked down at her tracker.

Three miles. Ten minutes forty-eight seconds.

She had just sprinted a mile in  _seconds_. Her heart was really beating fast now. There was no way. She hadn't shown a single symptom in two weeks. It hadn't even crossed her mind that she might've actually given herself super-speed. She looked back towards her home. Was it a fluke? Was she going nuts?

Wallis took a deep breath. Time to find out. She rolled her shoulders before settling into a starting stance. She counted herself down. Three, two, one, she took off.

Her eyes were screaming at her and she could feel tears leaking. Her feet were hot, probably from her shoes. It wasn't long before she recognized the houses around her. This time she slowed down more gradually before stopping. She was only a couple houses from her own. She wiped her eyes again before looking down at her tracker.

Six miles. Twelve minutes.

She grinned.

* * *

Barry could tell something was up with Wallis from the moment he walked in the door.

He had expected her to be kind of morose, since she was in the third week of her grounding. To his surprise, however, she was quite the opposite.

First of all, she was always happy to see him and Iris, but she seemed downright giddy when they walked through her front door. She had hugged them both furiously, grin stretched from ear to ear. Again, it could have just been that she was excited for some company to alleviate the boredom he knew she was experiencing. She was gone in the next moment, having disappeared up her stairs. Barry couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

She seemed… Different?

Iris noticed too. She leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Am I crazy or is Wallis… Buzzing?"

That was a good word for it. He nodded. "I felt it to. I don't know what's going on." He would keep an eye on her throughout dinner. He was glad she was doing alright, but her behavior was very odd.

He heard her running back down the stairs, this time clad in workout clothes. She stopped in front of Barry and held out her hand. In her palm sat a black stopwatch.

"Time me?" She smiled up at him.

He fixed her with a confused stare before taking the watch. "Uh, sure. But since when did you sprint?"

Wallis shrugged. "I don't know. Just thought I'd try something different." She turned towards the kitchen. "MOM! BARRY IS GOING TO TIME MY SPRINTS!"

Mary poked her head out of the kitchen to smile at her daughter. "Alright. I'm so glad you're branching out a little. You'll be able to run more events if you train hard enough."

Wallis nodded. "Yup!" She grabbed Barry's arm. "C'mon!" She tugged him behind her.

He was still confused, but he supposed this kind of explained her enthusiasm. Barry was always down to help her time her runs. Plus, he was willing to bet she was looking for some sprinting pointers from The Flash.

"Did you stretch already?" Barry asked, watching her walk to the sidewalk and take her place behind one of the lines.

She nodded. "Yeah." She reached into her shorts pocket and pulled out a bright red object.

Barry frowned when he saw what it was. "Uh… Are those goggles?"

Wallis nodded, pulling them on and placing them over her eyes. "Ready?" She sunk into a starting position.

Barry was still confused but figured he'd let her do her thing. Wallis had always been kind of quirky. "Uh, yeah. On your mark, get set," He positioned his thumb over the start button on the stop watch, "GO!" He pressed the button.

The air crackled with electricity. Barry recognized the feeling of the Speed Force being tapped.

Wallis was gone.

Then she was back.

Barry pressed the stop button on the timer, barely remembering to do so. He looked down. "Six seconds. How far did you go?" He breathed.

Wallis laughed. "One hundred meters! And back." She pulled the goggles up and let them rest on her forehead. "That's a new world record, don't you think?"

Barry swallowed thickly.

Wallis grinned. "So Uncle Barry, what was that you called me before?"


	5. NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

Hey there folks!

Hopefully this doesn’t come as a disappointment to anyone, but I’m removing “The Kittens” arc from this story and I’ll be moving it (when it’s done) to my new one-shot collection: _The Breeze_. This will be a series of stories focused around our favorite trio: Kid Flash, Robin, and Speedy! You should definitely check it out and subscribe, you won’t want to miss it!


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